For those who don’t believe in fate or whatever, here’s proof that from an early age I was destined to write hard science fiction about astronauts:
Taken in the early 1970s in Doha, Qatar. I will have been about four or five. The “spacesuit” was a Christmas present, I seem to remember. I suspect I would not have lasted long if I’d actually worn it in space.

2013-03-26 at 10:41
Huh, some of us had to make do with a cardboard box with a hole cut out of the front. I suspect that wouldn’t have worked well if we’d actually worn it in space either though, which shows that the same results can always be achieved at a lower cost.
2013-03-26 at 11:07
When I lived in Dubai a few years after the photo was taken, we had to build our own Eagle Transporter out of sand…
2013-03-26 at 16:07
Sand?! In Birmingham we used to DREEEAM of sand!
Colum
2013-03-26 at 18:29
You were lucky!
2013-03-27 at 20:44
Luxury!
We had to make do with newspaper!
(Enough of the Monty Python jokes now?)
2013-03-26 at 11:05
This explains a lot, mate!
2013-03-26 at 13:04
I would’ve KILLED for that suit.
2013-03-26 at 16:09
You still can. Will contact you with details later.
2013-03-26 at 16:18
Right-o…